


by my side (you'll never be)

by laultimastark



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: And I just wanted them to TALK, Angst, Bittersweet, Canon Compliant, F/M, Have some angst instead, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Missing Scene, Mutual Pining, My poor Gendarya heart, Still not giving them a happy ending, The Author Regrets Nothing, What I wanted from the finale, i'm still So Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 09:20:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18914071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laultimastark/pseuds/laultimastark
Summary: As Arya prepares to set sail and leave Westeros behind, she sees a familiar face on the dock below.(inspired by Swans by Unkle Bob)





	by my side (you'll never be)

**Author's Note:**

> I have sort of accepted the finale, but just barely. I definitely wanted Arya and Gendry to interact in some small, meaningful way and instead I got 15 minutes of Tyrion walking through the ashes of what was once King's Landing. I never imagined them having a truly happy ending, so this is the missing scene I would have settled for. ALL ABOARD THE ANGST TRAIN.

 

_and i want you to know_

_that i can't let you go_

_and you're never comin' home again_

 

 

Arya walks along the length of her ship, her steps sure and purposeful. She glances around her, as her new crew prepared for their voyage. Feeling both exhilarated and anxious, she stops at the bow and scanned the crowded docks below, taking in the scene. She might not be seeing Westeros, much less King’s Landing, for a very long time. Maybe never again. She has no way of knowing but fear of the unknown had never really stopped her before.

She's about to turn on her heel when she sees him.

The lone figure standing still on the bustling dock, his sharp blue eyes staring at her.

She can't help but gasp slightly at the sight of him. They had crossed paths politely during the small council meeting that decided all their fates—Bran and Sansa with their crowns, and Jon banished back to the Wall. She wasn’t sure how she felt that they were all separated once again; that the last of the Starks were fated to unite briefly before splitting apart once more. _The pack survives_ , she reminds herself. That’s all she could really ask for.

She had thought about approaching him, about saying goodbye. She had my her decision about this journey long before they arrived, seeking answers about Jon’s fate. But when their eyes met and he had merely bowed his head in respect—no _Mi’lady_ attached to his greeting, serious or teasing—the words had died in her throat and she held her tongue. Perhaps this was it, the end of their story. Polite strangers passing each other by. She would learn to live with that.

At least, that’s what she had believed up until seeing him standing below, watching her.

For a few moments, neither one of them moves. Arya briefly considers stepping off the ship to approach him but something kept her locked in place. She realizes that perhaps she would doubt her plans if she were to speak to him, feel his lips on hers one last time. It's a risk she simply can’t take.

 

Gendry wasn’t sure how he ended up on the dock. He knew that he had to try and practice restraint around her as the council meeting was called. He was a lord now, after all. Lords do not pine, they do not plead. And so he simply nodded, with no greeting— _I’ll never be a lady—_ as a form of self-preservation. But then Davos mentioned in passing that while her siblings were to take their thrones and disappear into the northern wilderness respectively, that Arya herself would be setting sail for unknown lands.

Maybe that’s why he suddenly found himself on the dock, staring up the fierce, beautiful woman he was sure he would love for the rest of his life. He had nothing to gain from this interaction, save for memorizing the features of her face before she disappeared past the horizon.

_I just needed to see you one last time_ , he thought, hoping that his eyes would convey his message.

He watches a ripple of emotions pass across her usually impassive face before seeing the emotion he had assumed she would land on: resolve. Another reminder that he knew he couldn’t keep her, he would be a fool to try. And he knew he would follow her to the ends of the world if she asked, but maybe that’s why she hadn’t.

 

Arya watches him for a few moments, knowing that she didn’t want to give him false hope. It would be a cruel thing to do to a good man. She knew she just wave farewell, offer him a nod. Resolve settles into her bones and she was sure he saw it on her face. But the words she had wanted to say before, dozens of times before now, slip through her lips as she held his gaze.

“I love you.”

She didn’t think she had spoken loudly but Gendry looks startled, and she knows her words have reached him. He offers her a small, sad smile before responding in kind.

“I love you.”

His words reach her ears and she pretends for a fleeting moment that she’s standing at his side, ready to be his family. Maybe not his lady, but always his family. It was all she had offered all those years ago. And she finds herself wishing desperately that so many things were different. That they had never been separated, that she could be what he needed. But there is no going back now, only forward.

_I can do this. I must do this. Please understand, Gendry._ She tilts her face up towards the sun and feels a tear escape her eye, moving quickly to brush it away.

She allows herself one last glance at the dock and is not surprised to see he’s already gone.

 

Gendry knows that this memory of her may very likely haunt his dreams. Arya had always done an exceedingly well job of hiding her emotions, so far removed from the angry, volatile girl he once knew. But to hear her confess her love for him, while knowing that they would still continue on two different paths, made his chest ache painfully.

She finally breaks away her gaze and tilts her face towards the sky. _This is how I'll always remember you_ , he thinks wistfully, failing to notice the lone tear trailing down her cheek.

He doesn't wait for her to look back as he turns and disappears into the crowd.

 

 

 

 

_i see you_

_you see me_

_differently_

 

_you tell me that you love me_

_but you never wanna see me again_

 

 

_you tell me that you love me_

_but you never wanna see me again_


End file.
